Supply short of demand for U.S. imams

RELIGION NEWS SERVICE :
July 6, 2012

SHARON, Mass. — The Islamic Center of New England has always been led by imams born outside the United States. The two-campus mosque would like to change that, but it's proving harder than leaders had thought.

The mosque has been without an imam since 2006, when the last one was arrested for immigration fraud. Since then, a rotating cast of lay and trained imams has led congregational Friday prayers and other mosque functions.

After dozens of interviews, the mosque's board is eyeing a U.S-born convert who studied Islam and Arabic in Saudi Arabia.

The imam's academic pedigree impressed the immigrant members of the mosque, while his fluency in U.S. pop culture helped him connect with mosque youth.

“We're looking for the future,” said Rashid Noor, head of the board, “and the future of Islam in this country are the children. So we need someone who can connect with the youth.”

Far from certain, however, is whether the mosque will be able to pay the salary demanded by the imam, nearly double the salary earned by the Egyptian-born imam at Sharon's sister mosque in Quincy, 23 miles away.

As this suburban mosque has discovered, U.S.-born imams are nearly impossible to find. Ads from mosques seeking imams fluent in English are readily found in Muslim-American magazines and newspapers.

Hossam AlJabri, a former executive director of the Muslim American Society, estimated that about 80 percent of the nation's 2,200 mosques were led by immigrant imams, although a majority have been in the county for at least 10 years, some longer.

According to a 2011 report from the Pew Research Center, 63 percent of the estimated 2.75 million Muslims in the United States are immigrants, with as many as 90,000 new Muslim immigrants arriving each year.

Experts say it will be years before the pool of U.S. imams becomes large enough to meet demand from mosques.

While a few Islamic chaplaincy programs and educational institutes have been established in the last few years in the United States, there are no similar programs to help newly arrived imams acclimate to America.

U.S. mosques continue to rely on foreign-born imams, but they also want Americanized imams who can speak English and serve as competent communicators with an ear for interfaith events, civic engagement and engaging the media.

“The number of people who have all these qualities is very few,” Noor said.

Because there are so few of these imams and demand for them is so strong, they can ask for salaries as high as $90,000 per year, plus benefits.

Imams from abroad generally accept much lower salaries, expecting their income to go further than it will. “You could give them $20,000, and they're happy,” said AlJabri.

Before long, however, many imams find themselves stretched financially, and some even get second jobs.

Many communities prefer immigrant imams because of skepticism about imams trained in America. “I found an imam at one masjid who could hardly speak English, but they have him because he recites good Quran and can lead them in prayers, and that's all they want,” said Naeem Baig, a spokesman for the Islamic Circle of North America.